By Amanda Riley
Northside News
In mid-March two Northside schools hosted public meetings about school construction projects that will occur as a result of the passing of a $507 million Facilities Referendum in 2024 (Ref24). Seventy-five percent of Madison voters supported the project to build five new schools and renovate two existing schools across the city. The new builds will replace existing facilities that are out of date and inadequate. Two of those projects: Blackhawk Middle/Samuel Gompers Elementary and Sherman Middle/Malcolm Shabazz City High School are combination schools on the Northside.
OPN, a Midwest architectural firm with an office in Madison, will collaborate with general contractors Vogel Brothers Building Co. on the Sherman/Shabazz project, and Findorff on the Blackhawk/Gompers project. All three companies have experience with K-12 education builds across the Midwest. JSD, a Madison-based firm, will provide support for civil engineering and traffic flow, while IMEG, a national firm with a Madison office, will provide support for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and educational technology needs. The Ref24 project is being coordinated by Concord Group, a national construction consulting firm with a Milwaukee office. Concord is serving as the Owner’s Representative for MMSD.
Each meeting had interpretation available for Spanish and Hmong speakers, and began with a presentation shared by OPN’s Susan Bowersox, senior project architect for Ref24. OPN is planning all parts of the Ref24 project at once, although building will happen sequentially. This is to ensure that resources are not exhausted before the final phase of construction. The two Northside projects are slated to be constructed in the first phase, with a planned opening in the fall of 2027. Bowersox shared input already received from stakeholders then asked for public comment.
In each meeting, public attendees numbered 30-40 individuals of all ages, which was matched by the number of representatives present from MMSD and building partners. The question period was long enough to answer all questions raised. Residents brought questions about traffic on residential streets and safety of students crossing Sherman Avenue. Some were addressed by Bowersox, and some will await decisions by the City Traffic Engineering Department. Residents mentioned concerns about disruption during the construction process, as well as how building changes might affect property values. Since construction will not occur for another year, residents were encouraged to attend future meetings for more details.
At the Blackhawk/Gompers meeting, teachers and parents brought up the needs of the children for greenspace and asked questions about energy efficiency. Architects plan to utilize geothermal energy and green building materials. A parent advocate shared a concern about funding for staffing smaller group work spaces. Melinda Heinritz, president of advocacy group Madison Public Schools Foundation, encouraged meeting attendees to join efforts at statewide legislative outreach to better fund public schools in Madison.
MMSD’s website (madison.k12.wi.us) includes information about Ref24 projects, and each page has a “Let’s Talk” button, which allows public questions to be routed to the right person for a response (not to a chat bot). Northside residents can also attend future public meetings to stay informed about how school construction projects are progressing and how they will affect life on the Northside for years to come.
